Van Gogh exhibit coming to Columbia

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An original exhibition featuring the work of Vincent Van Gogh is coming to the Columbia Museum of Art in July.

Van Gogh and His Inspirations, presented by the Blanchard family and supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities, will be on display from July1 9 until Sept. 4. The exhibit will feature a variety of painting and drawings that shaped the artist’s vision, including 12 works by Van Gogh.

“Van Gogh and His Inspirations represents an exhilarating high-water mark for exhibitions at the Columbia Museum of Art,” Della Watkins, executive director of the museum, said in a news release. “ … Get ready to immerse yourself in fascinating stories, breathtaking art, and get to know the real Van Gogh, one of history’s most mysterious and intense artists.” 

The foundation of the exhibit is a book by art historians and S.C. residents Steven Naifeh and late partner Greg Smith. Van Gogh: The Life, published in 2011, is the product of a decade of research and writing that included access to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and translation of historical documents.  

The exhibit, totaling around 60 works, will also include loans from 12 museums across the U.S., including Van Gogh’s self-portrait from the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Connecticut. Other featured artists will include Rembrandt van Rijn and Jean-Francois Millet.  

“No artist emerges out of a vacuum, including Van Gogh,” Will South, Columbia Museum of Art chief curator, said. “All of us are shaped by our culture, our time, our experiences. The works by Van Gogh being loaned for this exhibition reveal his connections to the artists and culture he was part of.”